Hope for Happiness
by escapedreality06
Summary: Regina and Emma have been happily married for four years. After Emma touches something in Regina's vault, she gets sent back in time where the curse is still very much intact. She must convince "Past Regina" to help her get back to her family. Will Regina's animosity for the Savior prevent her from helping Emma? Or will another obstacle get in the way before she has a chance?
1. Chapter 1

Emma landed on the forest floor with a thud. What was she doing here? She remembered she was in the vault with her wife when she "accidently" touched something she shouldn't have. She groaned to herself and set off towards the mansion, she figured that's where her wife would be. She lifted her arms to poof, but nothing happened. She tried again, nothing. After a third and a fourth try, Emma slammed her arms down to her side with a huff. She rolled her eyes and started on the long trek back home.

As she made her way towards Mifflin Street she recalled last night's events. It was their anniversary. After five whole years together, she couldn't believe she was lucky enough to marry her best friend. Although they had their share of ups-and-downs, being with Regina felt like coming home. No matter what happened in her life, Emma always felt safe being in her wife's arms. She felt the smile growing on her face as she walked up the path to her house. Ten years ago, Henry really did bring her home.

She didn't have her keys, so she knocked on the front door. As soon as she heard the heels clicking down the hall, she knew that her wife had returned home. When the door swung open she spoke, "Hey, 'Gina," with her head ducked sheepishly. She knew she was most likely going to be in trouble. When she didn't get a response from her wife, she picked her head up. "Oh, shit," Emma gasped. She stared wide-eyed at a short-haired, younger version of the brunette. She raked her eyes from Regina's stiletto clad feet to her perfectly coiffed hair. This was not her wife.

"Really Miss Swan? I hope you don't use this vulgar language around my son," Regina snapped back with her lips curled into a snarl. She folded her arms and glared at the blonde in front of her. "What is it that you want at," she paused to glance down at her watch, "eight-thirty in the morning?"

Emma stood in the doorway with her jaw hanging open. Regina was standing in front of her, but this was not her Regina. The blonde brought her hands up to her face and wiped at her eyes just to make sure this was actually happening.

"Hey Regina," Emma drawled. "I know this is probably a strange question, but what year is it?" Emma looked at Regina pleadingly, hoping beyond hope that she didn't get herself into this much trouble, again. Her wife was going to kill her.

Regina squinted her eyes and scanned Emma's body from head to toe hoping she would be clued in on whatever was making the blonde act so strangely. "It is 2011. Anymore idiotic questions Miss Swan or can I get back to -?"

"OH, SHIT!" Regina eyes widened, she jumped at Emma's loud outburst. "Oh no, oh no, oh no, oh no," Emma started to chant as she paced back and forth in front of an utterly confused Regina. Emma ran her hands through her hair and shook her head as she continued to mumble under her breath.

The brunette let out a huff, "Miss Swan?" She watched as the blonde kept pacing in front of her. "Miss Swan?" she asked, a little louder. Emma kept mumbling nonsensical words as she ignored Regina. The brunette was tempted to slowly turn around and step back inside her house to avoid this whole scenario. Finally having enough, Regina shouted, "MISS SWAN!"

Emma abruptly stopped and gave the annoyed brunette a sheepish look. Emma had no idea how she was going to get home. If she transported to the time she thought she was in, there is no magic here. Would she have to break the curse all over again? OH NO! Would she have to win over her wife all over again? Because accomplishing that was not an easy feat. As much as everyone says how amazing falling in love all over again is, Emma would rather skip this whole unsavory scenario, she is pretty sure this is not what they meant. Judging by the growing glare on the older woman's face, she had better come up with an explanation soon.

"Are you intoxicated this early in the morning, Miss Swan?" Regina takes what she hoped was an intimidating step towards Emma, "Because if you think I will let you anywhere near my son while you are in such a state, I will—,"

"Destroy my happiness if it is the last thing you do?" Emma cut off what was sure to be a long-winded speech about the dangers of drinking and how much of a bad influence she was on Henry.

Regina narrowed her eyes at the smirk on Emma's face and swiftly turned to go back inside.

Emma started to panic. She didn't know who else to go to for help, so she quickly reached out and grabbed ahold of the brunette's arm. Regina spun around and glared at Emma's hand keeping her in place. The blonde sensed that she made a wrong move and quickly released the older woman.

"I need your help. You are the only one that can help me, please," Emma begged. Regina looked at her quizzically, she was ready to say no and slam the door in the blonde's face, but her curiosity got the best of her. She let out a steadying breath and told Emma to follow her.

Emma looked curiously at the walls of the mansion. Everything was so bare. There were no family pictures. The wedding pictures were missing; all of Emma's things were gone. Emma closed her eyes briefly hoping this was all a dream. She opened her eyes slowly and shook her head when the same empty walls stared back at her. She couldn't believe how different Regina's life was in the future. Her Regina was filled with so much happiness and life. She remembered the animosity they shared towards each other before the curse broke and how much heart break Regina had yet to go through to get where she is now. Emma gulped, this was going to be a long day.

Regina led them into her study where she perched herself on the edge of her desk. She folded her arms and narrowed her eyes at Emma. "Talk," she commanded.

Emma had absolutely no idea how she could even begin to describe what had happened. Mostly, because she wasn't all that sure herself. She knew that the curse was still intact, so not only does she have to convince Regina to help her, she must explain that the curse was broken, and she knew that would not go over well.

Emma let out a deep breath, "Before I begin, I need you to let me say everything before you ask any questions and before I get any snarky comments," she gives Regina a pointed look. The brunette rolled her eyes and nodded in response.

"Okay, here we go. Oh God, this isn't going to end well," Emma cleared her throat and took a shaky breath. She didn't think she had ever been so nervous. "Well, here's the thing, I am from the future." Emma decided to just rip it off like a band-aid. She stared at the side of Regina's head as she continued because there was no way she could get through this with the other woman glaring back at her. "The year I am from is 2020, the curse has been broken for about nine years. I'm not really sure how I got here. I'm assuming whatever I touched in your vault sent me back in time, so I'm hoping you can fix it. I know there is no magic here and I'm sure once my wi—err… spouse figures out that I am gone they will come looking for me, but until then, I need your help before I screw something up. I know we haven't known each other that long in this time line, but I'm sure you know me well enough to know that screwing things up is a very real possibility for me." Emma scratched at the back of her neck as she finished her speech and chanced a glance at Regina. She figured it was wise not to mention that the woman in front of her was her wife in the future; she didn't think this version of Regina would take too kindly to that.

Regina stared, slack-jawed at the blonde. Emma could tell the brunette's shoulders had stiffened. She knew that Regina was trying to figure out exactly how she was going to play this.

Regina cleared her throat and stepped away from her desk. "Let me see if I've got this right, you expect me to believe that you are from almost ten years in the future and that Henry's wild ideas of a curse are real? I asked if you were intoxicated earlier, Miss Swan, but this behavior makes me think you are positively mad."

Emma rolled her eyes. "Oh cut the crap, Madame Mayor. We both know I am telling the truth and the sooner you help me the sooner I get out of here and leave you alone. You want to test my knowledge of you? Go ahead, ask me anything," Emma challenged. As much as she would just love to play this ridiculous game with Regina, she did not have the time. She needed to get home to her family.

"I'm not playing these games with you. You are clearly suffering from some sort of mental break. I must ask that you leave," Regina moved to see Emma out.

Emma rolled her eyes again. She needed to get through to this infuriating woman. She tried to think of something that wasn't thoroughly mentioned in the book that would affect Regina, that would make her realize that this was not a game.

"Daniel," Emma whispered. Regina froze by the door of the study. She slowly turned around and Emma saw many different emotions, ranging from anger to sadness, flash across her face. "I'm sorry to bring him up, Regina. I know he is such a sore subject for you, but I need you to believe me. I need your help."

"How do you know about Daniel?" Regina choked out. Emma saw that the brunette's hands started to shake. She watched Regina move unsteadily to the chair, holding onto passing furniture for support.

"Because you told me about him," Emma said softly. She moved to kneel near Regina. She reached out to take the brunette's hand, but quickly drew it back. As much as Emma would love to comfort Regina, this was not her wife. "The curse broke Regina, I'm not from this time. I need to get back home to my family."

Apparently, "family" was the wrong word to use because Regina's emotions quickly turned to anger. "Oh, well that's just lovely, Miss Swan. The good, noble Savior wants to get back to her precious family," Regina spat out. She abruptly stood and Emma, who was kneeling on the floor, fell back. Regina towered over the blonde as her anger increased. The harsh eyes staring back at her startled Emma. Those harsh eyes hadn't been trained on her in a very long time. She wasn't used to her wife looking at her with this much contempt. "Tell me, how long after the curse broke did you take away MY son? Am I locked up? Put to death? Is that why you looked so shocked to see me earlier? Did those 'good for nothing' Charming's finally have me executed?" Regina kept moving closer and closer to Emma like she was ready to devour her prey.

"Regina—," Emma tried to interrupt.

"And then, after you ruin my life, you think I would ever help you?" Regina stood glowering over Emma. If this was a cartoon, Emma was sure Regina would have smoke coming out of her ears. The blonde was taken aback by the outburst; her wife didn't harbor all this anger anymore. She had to admit she was kind of frightened and maybe a little turned on all at once (she knew she should probably keep the latter thought to herself though). Emma quickly stood up and held her hands up in surrender, she had to handle this situation very carefully.

"Regina, I need you to just breathe for a second and listen to me very carefully," Emma hesitantly spoke. She walked towards Regina like she was approaching a frightened animal. "You are not locked up, you are not executed. The family I spoke of? You are as much a part of it as I am."

Of all of the responses Emma was expecting, Regina bursting out in laughter was not one of them. "You really expect me to believe that I am part of the family? How stupid do you think I am? Snow White and her idiot husband would never forgive me for taking away their precious baby girl," Regina spat, harshly. The brunette shook her head and started to pace the room.

Emma suddenly had an idea, Regina couldn't argue with proof, could she? She dug for her phone hoping that she had a decent picture of her family that didn't give away too many details about the future. As she was scrolling through photos, she passed one of her mother and Regina at Henry's graduation party. The pair had their arms wrapped around each other with big smiles on their faces. Emma snickered to herself at the reaction she would get out of 'past' Regina seeing herself so happy with her enemy.

After hearing the blonde laugh, Regina glared at Emma, "You just told me the curse, that has been intact for 28 years, is broken and you think texting right now is appropriate?"

"Oh, shut up, I'm looking for something," Emma rolled her eyes as she continued scrolling through pictures. She did not miss the harsh, snarky attitude the past version of her wife possessed. Granted, her Regina still had some attitude, it was just usually directed at everyone else.

"Excuse me, who do you think you are –"

"Found one!" Emma cheered. She quickly walked over to where Regina had stopped pacing. "If you don't believe me then see for yourself." She handed the phone to Regina. She watched carefully as the brunette's eyes widened.

Regina's eyes filled with tears as she saw the photo staring back at her. The picture was of Emma, Henry and Regina at Granny's. She couldn't get over how old her little boy looked. He had a little bit of facial hair and he looked so much taller. She softly traced the face of her grown, little boy with her index finger and fought the urge to smile. Future Regina was wrapped tightly under his arm. Emma was on the other side of the booth smiling at the pair. She noticed that she didn't look that much different, just maybe a few more wrinkles and longer hair. What stood out to her the most was the big smile on her face. She looked so happy. She didn't think she had smiled like that since Daniel. Water droplets hit the screen and she realized she was crying. She brought a shaky hand up to her face and quickly wiped the tears away. She would not let Miss Swan see her weakness.

She studied the photo for a few long moments trying to burn every last detail into her memory. She was ready to hand the phone back when another detail caught her eye. "I'm married?" she whispered, confusedly.

The soft smile Emma had on her face while watching Regina, quickly vanished. "Oh, crap," Emma swore. Of course, she would choose a picture with Regina's wedding ring showing. "Damnit, Swan," she berated herself.

"W-Who?" Regina looked up at Emma with such vulnerability; she couldn't believe anyone would want to marry her. "Who would marry the Evil Queen?" Regina sounded so small. It was so uncharacteristic of the strong, fearless mayor that everyone was used to seeing. Emma had witnessed her wife with her walls down, she knows that this scared, vulnerable Regina was present when the façade slowly fell away.

As a knee-jerk reaction, Emma went to defend her wife. "You aren't the Evil Queen, you are just Regina."

Regina looked back at her in disbelief, "You must be insane," she chuckled, darkly.

"And here I thought I was done repeating myself about this evil queen bullshit," Emma grumbled to herself with an eye roll and a shake of the head. "Okay, yes, you are married. Yes, you have a family and NO, let me say it again, NO, you are not the Evil Queen. How could someone not want you?" Emma hesitantly reached for Regina's hand and gave it a gentle squeeze. She felt Regina flinch at the unfamiliar contact. Emma moved to take her hand back, but before she could she felt Regina reciprocate the gesture. The brunette looked from their joined hands into Emma's eyes. She gasped audibly at the intensity of the green eyes staring back at her. She didn't want to decipher what that look meant. She cleared her throat awkwardly and removed her hand from Emma's. Emma sensed that the moment was over between them.

The blonde clapped her hands together and tried to breeze past the marriage topic. "I really need you to help me, Regina."

"Miss Swan, I appreciate the sentiment with the picture and the whole "not the Evil Queen" nonsense, but I am honestly not sure what I can do to help. As you stated before, there is no magic here." Regina walked back over to her chair and gracefully sat down. Emma noticed that she kept eyeing her ring finger curiously. The blonde chuckled to herself, she was sure Regina had no idea that the person she was married to was standing right in front of her.

The only way the blonde could think to get home was using her magic. She concentrated on her strong emotions and tried to light a fireball. She thought of the love she had for her wife, her son, her family. Her magic wasn't coming to her. She glared daggers into her open palm willing the white fire to come alive. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Her vision swam with memories of her family and after a few long moments she opened her eyes with a sigh. Nothing.

Regina cocked her head curiously before she realized what Emma was trying to do. "You have magic," she stated, it wasn't a question.

"Yeah, the whole child of true love thing," Emma said distractedly, without looking up from her palm. After a few more seconds she clamped her hand into a fist and swore under her breath. "This is a bigger disaster than when I became the Dark One."

"You were the Dark One?" Regina said, alarmed. "But, Rumple…" She looked at Emma with wide eyes trying to figure out how that could have possibly happened.

"Damnit, Emma," the blonde scolded herself. "Um, there is no way you will just forget I said that, right?" Regina gave her a look and Emma put her head in her hands with a groan. This was impossible. Emma decided that for this to work she needed to think before she spoke.

"I honestly have no idea what to do here," Emma said. She dropped, rather ungracefully, onto the sofa across from Regina and rested her elbows on her knees. "Maybe we just have to wait?"

"Honestly, Miss Swan, where are you supposed to wait? I will not have you going around my town changing the timeline any more than you already have. Henry will be home from school in a few hours and I would appreciate it if you were gone before then. She looked down at her pants as she grumbled, "There were already too many damn saviors in this town to begin with."

"Hey! It's not like I signed up for this job," Emma exclaimed, frustratingly, "I hate being the Savior just as much as you hate being the Evil Queen."

Regina was surprised by that piece of information. She figured Emma was happy to be the Savior. Who wouldn't love being the hero of the story?

"I meant that we wait for someone to come and get me," Emma stated. She knew that her wife would be here any second. The last thing she remembered was talking with Regina in her vault, she must know that Emma has disappeared.

They sat in silence for a while. Emma thought about ways to get home and Regina tried to make sense of everything she had just learned. The brunette kept fiddling with her ring finger. She debated whether to ask the question that was burning in her mind. She felt that since future Emma was sure to be gone soon, she may as well get the answers she most desired.

After a few more moments of deliberation, Regina was the first to speak. "May I ask you something?" The usually stoic woman wrung her hands together, uncharacteristically.

Emma looked up from staring intently at the ground and nodded.

She took a deep breath before whispering, "Am I happy?" Regina felt the heat rise to her cheeks at asking such a question. This was something that she needed to know, this was the whole point to the curse. She just wanted to be happy.

Emma smiled softly at her and opened her mouth to speak when a giant portal opened in between them. They jumped up in shock before trying to run from the spinning, black hole growing larger in the middle of the room. They didn't make it far enough before being flown backwards and into the dark abyss.

Before they even had a chance to scream, Emma and Regina landed on their feet in the middle of Main Street. They both looked around bewildered by what just happened.

"Uh… moms?"

Emma and Regina spun around to find the owner of the voice. Across the street was a 19-year-old Henry staring back at them in astonishment. Regina's jaw dropped, her eyes filled with tears as she took in the sight of her little boy, who was now all grown up.

"You have GOT to be kidding me," Emma groaned into her hands, thinking about how much trouble this is going to cause. She could only imagine the trouble that was to come knowing the two versions of Regina would meet. Could this day seriously get any worse?


	2. Chapter 2

"H-Henry?" Regina whispered. She smiled brightly at him. He was all grown up. She ran her eyes all over her boy, he was perfect. She was positively beaming at him as he walked closer.

Henry smiled happily back at his mother. He couldn't help his confusion though. He looked from the diner where he just left his brunette mother with his grandma and his Aunt Zelena, back to his other brunette mother. He squinted his eyes trying to make sense of this before chuckling to himself and turning to look at his blonde mother. He dropped his eyes to Emma and saw her nervously rocking back and forth. He shook his head, he knew that look. That was the 'I did something stupid and now Regina is going to yell at me' look.

"I may have accidently brought her back from the past?" Emma said with a sheepish grin on her face. Henry shook his head, but darted his eyes back to his brunette mother. He saw the smile beaming back at him and couldn't help, but run the rest of the way to her.

"Mom!" He shouted as he wrapped her up tightly in his arms. He remembered how horrible he had been to her before the curse was broken and he knew that she needed this hug more than anything right now. He needed her to know that she was still his mother. He needed her to know that he loved her and that things would get better between them.

"Oh, Henry," Regina sobbed into his chest. It had been so long since she had last been allowed to hug her little boy.

Emma stared at the pair with love in her eyes. She and her wife had talked about how hard it was for her when he brought Emma to town. Regina had missed him so much and felt like the only love she had in her life was being ripped away again.

"Emma?" The blonde heard her wife calling her name as she stepped out of the diner.

When the past version of Regina heard herself speak her head jerked up and she stared wide eyed at the woman who was running towards Emma. To say she was appalled was an understatement. Since when did she start running into someone's arms? She watched as her future-self wrapped her arms around Emma and buried her head in the blonde's neck. Past Regina narrowed her eyes at herself. She was way too comfortable with the Savior. Maybe in the future she was planning some evil plot to steal her son back?

"Emma! You're back, I've been looking everywhere for you. I was so worried, I thought I lost you," future Regina whispered into Emma's neck. She put her hands on Emma's shoulders and pushed her back to take a look at her. She needed to make sure her wife was still intact.

Emma reached out to encase her wife in another hug. "I'm fine I promise, I was in Storybrooke before the curse broke and then this big, giant black hole thing sucked us in and brought us here."

"Us?" Regina questioned. She disentangled herself from her wife and looked around.

Past Regina cleared her throat and when they locked eyes they both froze.

They raked their eyes over each other suspiciously.

"Oh, dear," Regina sighed. She turned to her wife, "Didn't I tell you not to touch anything? You never listen. How many more times is stuff like this going to happen before you learn?" She folded her arms and gave her wife 'the look' that let her know that she was in trouble.

"Aw, not the look. You know I hate that!" Emma pouted. She gave her wife the puppy dog eyes that she and Henry both used to get out of trouble.

"Don't look at me like that, I can't stay mad when you look at me like that," Regina whined.

Past Regina looked completely disgusted. She was whining now? What the hell happened to her? Before she could even question the pathetic behavior she was witnessing, Emma stepped closer to the other Regina and smiled sweetly.

"That's why I look at you like that."

Past Regina fought the urge to gag as she watched them stare into each other's eyes adoringly. She had finally had enough, "Can someone please tell me what the hell is going on?"

Snow and Zelena finally made their way to the group, "Emma, you're back I was so worried. Where did you go?" She wrapped her arms around her daughter and visibly gasped when she saw the two Regina's staring back at her.

"Snow White," past Regina spat viciously. Although she has talked to Mary Margaret, she hadn't been faced with Snow White in a long time.

"Oh, here we go," Emma groaned. She pushed her mother to stand behind her just in case.

"This is going to be so much fun, should I go make some popcorn?" Zelena whispered in Emma's ear. Emma responded with a glare.

Emma looked to her son and found him glancing between the women nervously. She figured she would put him out of his misery. He didn't need to see this catastrophe.

"Henry…" Emma started.

"Henry, why don't you go to your grandparents like you planned?" Regina interrupted, catching on to her wife's train of thought.

"But," he whined. As much as he would love to avoid the fight that was about to ensue, he didn't want to miss anything.

"Now, kid." Emma gave him a look that told him she would not be taking no for an answer.

"Fine," he huffed. He walked around the circle of women giving each of them a hug and a kiss on the cheek. Emma could have sworn she heard him mutter in his aunt's ear, "I need pictures, videos and details later."

Emma rolled her eyes. Henry and Zelena together were always trouble. Turning back to her wife and her… other wife? Emma tried to prepare herself for the explosion she felt coming.

Her wife was looking at her mother and shaking her head, "Snow, it's alright I will handle her."

"Oh, my God," Regina said. She looked at herself with a glare. "Are you… are you friends with her?"

"Best friends!"

"Not helping, Snow," future Regina muttered with an eye-roll.

"B-Best friends? You must be playing some trick on me. Please, someone tell me she is playing a trick on me! You must be planning some kind of plot right? There is no way I would ever be friends with that spawn."

"No, I'm afraid I'm not."

"How could you? After everything she put you through? After Daniel? After Leopold? Oh, I'm sorry. I hear you are married now so you must have forgotten all about that. Now you are cavorting with these-these peasants!"

Regina gets in past Regina's face, "Such a shame murdering you would be counterproductive. I most certainly did not forget about Daniel. I don't care who you are, watch your mouth when you talk about my family."

"You're pathetic, you are really sticking up for these people? After all they have done?"

"They are my FAMILY!" She shouted. The past version of Regina looked at herself with wide eyes. She couldn't believe what she had just heard. Emma noticed that her wife's hands started to smoke. She knew that her wife was on her last thread of patience.

"Regina, I really don't think this is good for the baby."

"Snow!" The older version of the brunette yelled with her eyes wide. She didn't want her past self to know about the baby. Especially her marriage to Emma. She couldn't imagine how her past self would take the news.

Past Regina's eyes widened as she looked at her future self's stomach, "Baby?" Emma noticed her wife cover her tiny baby bump protectively. Although Emma knew that any version of Regina would never harm a child, especially her own, she stepped forward to the side of her wife just in case.

"This is too damn good," Zelena chuckled, she wore a shit-eating grin as she looked back and forth from both Regina's. Emma shot daggers at her. Of course she was finding enjoyment in this.

"Okay! Maybe we should all sit down and talk about this in private," Emma tried to intervene. She put her hands out to try and get between the two Regina's. They were still standing outside of Granny's and Emma could see the crowd forming around the window. She rolled her eyes, _no one in this town can mind their own damn business_.

"How are you pregnant? It's impossible," past Regina whispered. She looked completely lost.

"True love," Snow said happily. She beamed at the younger version of Regina who was glaring daggers back at her.

"Snow!"

"Mom!"

They did not want the past version of Regina to find out about them through Snow White.

"But Daniel - How do we have a true love? Who is it?"

"Why Emma, of course." Apparently after years and years of being hunted for not keeping her mouth shut, Snow White still hasn't learned her lesson.

"SNOW!" "MOM!"

Zelena snorted and everyone turned to glare at her. "What? Oh, come on, it's hilarious!"

Everyone looked from Zelena to Regina to try and gauge her reaction. They watched as her eyes started to roll back inside her head and she fainted. Emma reached out to catch her before she fell to the ground.

"Too much, too soon?" Emma asked the group.

"Let's take her back to our house," said Regina as she ran her hands through her hair. "This is going to be a long day."

"Mom, I think it's best if you stayed home," Snow pouted, but nodded her head. "You too, chuckles." Zelena stuck her tongue out, childishly. "Ring me later, darlings!"

The trio disappeared in a cloud of white smoke. They arrived in their bedroom and Emma set the brunette down carefully as she started to awaken.

"Why don't you go downstairs, and I'll talk with her. I'm sure throwing all that information at her was a lot to take in."

"Are you sure that's a clever idea?" Regina asked.

"Yes, I'll call you if I need you."

They held eye contact for a few beats before Regina nodded her head and left to go downstairs.

Emma went to the master bathroom and grabbed a washcloth. She turned on the cold water and made sure the rag was damp. Emma looked at herself and took a deep breath.

"And here I thought I was having a nightmare," Regina muttered to herself when she saw Emma walk back into the room.

"Are you okay?" Emma questioned as she walked over to the bed. She cautiously sat next to where the brunette was laying.

"Yes, Miss Swan. I am fine." Regina diverted her eyes. She moved to get up, but Emma pushed her shoulders back down. They glared at each other for a few, long seconds before Regina relented and put her head back on the pillow. She couldn't believe everything she had learned.

"I always know when you are lying, Regina." She dabbed the cloth along the top of Regina's forehead, surprised that the brunette didn't shrink away from the contact. "Did you want to talk about it? I will answer anything you ask."

"I have nothing to say to you."

"Oh, come on, you just found out that we share true love, are married and expecting a baby and you have nothing to say?"

Regina nodded her head and Emma sat there quietly, continuing with the cloth on Regina's forehead. She knew that opening up about her feeling wasn't her wife's strong suit. Especially this version who was so closed off and still held all this animosity towards her.

"How could you ever forgive me for what I did to you?" Regina whispered quietly after ten minutes. "Seeing her, me, looking so happy, it all seems so far-fetched. That smile she had on her face earlier, I haven't smiled like that since Daniel. Then, I find out that we share true love. I thought Daniel was my true love. When I lost him I spent years hunting Snow. I couldn't believe he was gone, that I lost someone I loved so dearly. Now I find out that I was wrong… I don't know what to feel. How was I wrong?"

She couldn't wrap her head around it. How was this her life? If she was being honest with herself, everything felt too good to be true. She always thought that if the curse ever broke, they would hunt her down and execute her as soon as they remembered who she was. She remembered the future version of herself screaming at her, _they are my family_.

Emma smiled sadly at Regina. She knew how hard this must be for her. Her wife had worked so hard to get where she was, to find this happiness. The blonde knew that just simply showing the past version of Regina how different things were to what she expected must be confusing. She reached over and grabbed Regina's hand. She congratulated herself when the brunette didn't pull away.

"We have both lived our lives according to others plans. Our choices were already mapped out for us. I know how much Daniel meant to you, I know how much you loved him. I would like to think that loving him led you to me and I couldn't be more thankful. You deserve all the happiness in the world, Regina. I know you have made countless mistakes and I know that you feel remorse for the things you have done. Life wasn't the easiest for me and it sure as hell wasn't the easiest for you. I think that's what makes us perfect for each other though. We understand each other in a way that no one else can. Without all that pain and heartache, we wouldn't have Henry. I would go through all of it again if it meant that he was the result. You are not alone anymore, Regina. We are a family."

Regina's eyes were glistening with tears. Never in her life had anyone said something so sincere. She didn't know what to say except for, "Thank you, Miss Swan… E-Emma."

"See, you are getting better at this already." Emma smiled back at her. The blonde had an idea. She hated that this past version of her wife was feeling so hopeless and alone. She hated seeing her so unsure. She made a quick decision and hoped her wife wouldn't kill her for it later. "If you would like, I was hoping you would stay a couple days. I guess I just want to show you everything you have to look forward to. I want to give you the hope that seems to be missing."

"But Henry?"

"Don't worry, I have travelled to the past before. I was there for a few days, but it only felt like minutes here to everyone else."

"You really are a Charming, aren't you?" Regina looked up at her shyly. She didn't know when she turned into this pathetic mess.

"Yeah, I really am. That's why you love me," Emma responded with a playful wink.

 _Oh yeah_ , Regina thought, _that's when_. This version of Emma was so unlike the one gallivanting all across Storybrooke with _her_ son. This Emma was kind and compassionate. It seems like she really understood Regina. The brunette didn't have to wonder how she ended up falling for her. Emma reminded her of Daniel. Well, _this_ Emma anyways. A small voice in the back of Regina's head was reminding her that maybe if she hadn't gone on the defensive with Emma immediately that they could have had this sort of relationship from the get-go.

Regina rolled her eyes, "I will have to think about your offer. I don't know if I am ready to play nice." She had seen the way Regina had interacted with Snow and the red head. She wasn't use to being close to anyone, to having friends. She had Kathryn, but that was more of a ploy to try and separate the two idiots in love.

Emma smirked back at her, "See I knew this sappiness wouldn't last. You are way to snarky to play nice for long."

"Why do I feel so comfortable with you?" Regina blurted out. She cursed herself,

"Maybe, because right now I'm the least scary option. And also, I think you have spent so long bottling up all of your emotions that it is nice to be able to talk to someone who knows the real you."

"The real me?" Regina asked skeptically.

"Yes, not the evil queen, not the mayor. The real you, Regina. Whether you want to admit it or not, you have the greatest capacity to love. You love with everything you have and it's something I admire about you. You deserve all the love and more. You have a family now. You worked hard for this family. You are not disposable, your life matters to us."

Regina felt her eyes tear up again and quickly cleared her throat. "Is there any other big information I need to find out while I'm laying down?"

"The annoying red head that wouldn't stop laughing?"

"What, is she another wife?"

"Ew, no. She is your sister," Emma replied with a grimace.

"How—"

"It's a long story, but your mother had a kid before you were born and gave her up so that your mother could have her best chance. She may also be the Wicked Witch of the West who tried to kill you and my entire family."

"As is Wizard of Oz, flying monkey Wicked Witch?"

"Yep, that's the one. Don't worry, she didn't turn you into a flying monkey. I wouldn't have let that happen." Emma realized she was still holding Regina's hand and gave it a squeeze. They shared a smile, both at the craziness of it all and the fact that Emma was so protective of her.

"And my mother?" Regina whispered. She wasn't sure that she was ready for the answer. She didn't know if she was hoping she was dead or alive. Which one would be worse? She closed her eyes and waited for Emma to begin.

The blonde took a deep breath. She wasn't sure how much she should tell her. She knew mentioning that Snow White used Regina to murder her own mother probably wasn't in anyone's best interest, especially considering this version of her wife still hated her mother.

"She is gone, she and your father have both moved on. She was killed in Storybrooke shortly after the curse was broken. She framed you for Archie's murder so that everyone would accuse you and she could sweep in and take care of you. She wanted to rule Storybrooke side-by-side. We went to the Underworld about six years back and she was there. You and Zelena spent some time with her and you worked out your differences. She apologized for everything she put you through and she told you that she was proud of you and your strength. She uh -" Emma hesitated with this next part. She knew that it would make Regina upset. "She told you that she was wrong, love was strength. She told you that you got your strength from the people you loved and not from her. She had her heart back, Regina. You and Zelena both said your goodbye's to her and watched her walk into the afterlife, happy. You and Zelena have been the best of sisters ever since. She even lived with you for a short time." Emma swallowed thickly as she saw the tears streaming down Regina's face. She knew how difficult the relationship was between Regina and Cora. She couldn't imagine what the brunette was thinking. The blonde felt her own tears coming down her face in sympathy.

"I think I might need some time alone, Miss Swan. I need to digest everything." Regina was staring down at their hands clasped together. She slowly extracted her fingers and diverted her eyes to the corner of the room. She was feeling too weak and too vulnerable to let anyone see her like this. She just wanted to be alone. She needed it.

"Okay, take all the time you need. I will be downstairs," Emma replied quietly. She really didn't want to leave Regina, but she knew her wife. She knew she needed time to process.

Regina nodded her head.

"And Regina?" Emma said as she made her way to the door.

"Yes, dear?"

"It's Mrs. Swan-Mills."

Regina's head snapped up immediately and locked eyes with Emma. They shared a soft smile as the blonde left the room and returned to her wife in the kitchen. Regina thought that maybe that was Emma's way of reminding her that she was not alone anymore. She didn't have to be alone anymore. She made her decision then, she would stay a few days. She needed that hope now more than ever.


End file.
